The New England Federation legal code makes no differentiation between a member of the Great Families and a citizen of the lower classes. Everyone is equal before the law. Though some are more equal than others. It is extremely rare for a member of the Great Families to be convicted of the worst crimes. Officially this is because Family members value the peace of the Federation every bit as much as other citizens. In practice it is because they plead to breaking the peace long before they commit harder crimes and are exiled from the Solar System. Most Family members go to the Alpha Centauri or New New York trinary star systems. There they tend to join cadet Family branches and continue on about their old ways. That is one of the reasons those colony systems can be a bit more rough and tumble than Terrestrial Federation territory.